The proposed study is focused on matrix vesicles (MVs) which play an initiating role in the mineralization of teeth and bones. MVs are submicroscopic, extracellular, membrane-invested particles that serve as the initial site of calcification in dentin, growth plate cartilage and developing bone. Our lab was involved in the first identification, isolation and characterization of MVs. We and others have provided evidence that MV phosphatases, including alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and ATPase are involved in MV mineralization. Furthermore, these phosphatases are integrated into the MV membrane beneath which mineral first appears, suggesting a critical role for components of the MV membrane in initiating calcification. Our study is directed toward an increased understanding of the mechanism by which MVs initiate biomineralization. We will examine the interaction of constitutive MV phosphatases, e.g. alkaline phosphatase (ALP), ATPase, nucleotide triphosphate pyrophosphohydrolase (NTPPase) and inorganic pyrophosphatase (PPiase), in regulating the mineralization of isolated MVs from rat growth plate, and in promoting or inhibiting in vivo MV mineralization using normal versus transgenic mice with ALP and/or NTPPase gene inactivation. Since programmed cell death has been suggested as a necessary precondition for MV biogenesis in growth plate, we will examine the role of chondrocyte apoptosis in the generation of mineralization-competent MVs by cultured rat growth plate chondrocytes. Following up on our preliminary observation that isolated rat MVs contain significant amounts of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) we will test the hypothesis that extracellular BMPs, residing in the MVs of growth plate cartilage are carriers of morphogenetic signals that regulate new bone formation following their release by cartilage matrix resorption in metaphyses and secondary ossification centers. Specific Aims: 1) a further characterization of the role MV phosphatases in regulating MV initiated biomineralization. 2) Studies of the effect of genetically induced hypophosphatasia and/or hypopyrophosphatasia on MV-initiated biomineralization in mutant mice. 3) A study of the mechanism of MV biogenesis by chondrocyte plasma membrane budding and whether MV biogenesis is regulated by programmed cell death (apoptosis). 4) Studies to confirm the presence of BMPs in isolated rat growth plate MVs, and to determine whether matrix vesicle BMPs can promote chondro- osseous differentiation. This is a fundamental study of the mechanism by which dental and skeletal forms of mineralization are initiated. New knowledge of matrix vesicle calcification can be applied to a broad range of topics including specific diseases in which abnormal calcification occurs.